"I was out in Los Angeles recently to check out the progress of the L.A. Live project - a brand new commercial and residential center revitalizing downtown L.A. When it opens in 2010, it will include two of our top brands - a JW Marriott and a Ritz-Carlton. Also, a Ritz-Carlton Residences. It's stunning and I'm betting it will be a great success both for Los Angeles and for Marriott.

I'm glad I was there. Particularly given all the gloomy financial and economic news around these days, it was important to make the point that when we come out of these tough times, we'll be ready. That's not going to happen overnight, but it's going to happen. I'm confident that the actions of the political and financial leaders in Washington and globally are going to help the financial markets tremendously."